Americans' Sexual Health is in Crisis

Facts on Sexually Transmitted Infections in the United States (Guttmacher Institute Report)
Key Points
• In the United States, more than 65 million people are currently living with an incurable STI.
• More than half of Americans will have an STI at some point in their lifetime.
• Some 19 million new STIs occur each year, almost half of them among young people aged 15–24.
• The United States has the highest STI rate of any industrialized country.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among American Youth: Incidence and Prevalence Estimates, 2000. (Guttmacher Institute Study)
Approximately 18.9 million new cases of STD occurred in 2000, of which 9.1 million (48%) were among persons aged 15-24. Three STDs (human papillomavirus, trichomoniasis and chlamydia) accounted for 88% of all new cases of STD among 15-24-year-olds.

Mar 11, 2008. Quarter of U.S. teen girls have sex-related disease

Nov 13, 2007. U.S. chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis rates rise

HIV Rising Among Young Gay Men In The US

CDC says 1.1 million Americans infected with HIV
A new estimate of how many Americans have the AIDS virus puts the number at about 1.1 million, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Wart virus caused 25,000 cancers a year: CDC

• The human wart virus HPV caused 25,000 cases of cancer a year in the United States between 1998 and 2003

• HPV includes about 100 different viruses

• An estimated 11,070 new cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed in 2008 in the United States, and 3,870 women will die of it.

• An estimated 500,000 women globally are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and 300,000 die of it.

• The CDC survey of 38 states and Washington, D.C., found nearly 7,400 cancers of the mouth and throat that could be linked with HPV every year -- nearly 5,700 among men and about 1,700 among women. There were more than 3,000 HPV-associated anal cancers per year -- about 1,900 in women and 1,100 in men," the CDC said.

HPV infection rates similar in men and women

The team conducted a forward-looking study of 290 men from southern Arizona, ages 18-44 years. The participants were examined at the start of the study and every 6 months thereafter. On average, the subjects were followed for 15.5 months. Upon entering the study, 30 percent of men were infected with HPV. The 12-month rate of new infection was 29.2 percent. Over the entire study period, roughly half of men were infected with HPV and nearly a third of the HPV types found are known to cause cancer. About 75 percent of the infections cleared within a year of detection.


MedicalNewsToday.com Sexual Health / STDs News


Sexually Transmitted Diseases: A Physician Tells You What You Need to Know by Lisa Marr, M.D., A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book
Every year, millions of people are exposed to a sexually transmitted disease. And many people who are sexually active often worry about being infected. In her comprehensive guide to STDs, Dr. Lisa Marr tells readers everything they need to know about avoiding, preventing, and treating these diseases. Complete and up-to-date, this book describes safer sex practices, testing protocols, and symptoms, and details commonly known treatments as well as significant recent medical advances—including new testing for the herpes virus, the vaccine against the human papilloma virus (HPV), and new discoveries about the effectiveness of spermicides and condoms. For each disease, Dr. Marr offers the latest Sexually Transmitted Disease Treatment Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Forthright, compassionate, and practical, this guide is a trusted source of advice for anyone who is sexually active.